Wikileaks reveals the dark backyard of Georgian internal politics

Some time ago Wikileaks published what was allegedly genuine correspondence between the US Embassy in Georgia and the US State Department concerning the Georgian local elections in 2010. According to Wikileaks this was confidential information. It revealed certain facts taking place behind the scenes during the pre-election period.

Of course both the ruling authorities and the opposition tried to gain the utmost benefit from this information, however for the Georgian population these facts revealed by Wikileaks discredit all Georgian politicians very seriously, and show the US position in a bad light as well. Purportedly the US Embassy was prepared to accept the victory of the National Movement in the local elections in Georgia in 2010.

This information has seriously impacted the confidence of some opposition members who are now stating that Europe and the USA oppose Saakashvili's administration, and obviously gives them extra arguments--especially to the radical opposition—to believe elections are hopeless since the ruling administration is guaranteed victory. Some opposition members have already expressed their opinion that the current authorities are supported by the US government and that any elections or a possible victory of the opposition are illusory.

One political analyst has suggested that one gets the impression from the US position that it sees the situation here through the eyes of the National Movement. If this is true, the points of view, positions and analyses are very similar, so one can assume that the results of the forthcoming elections in Georgia can be predicted beforehand, as a victory for the ruling power.

There is some scandalous information on Georgia in Wikileaks as well. For instance, that Gia Chanturia, Christian Democrat candidate for Tbilisi Mayor during the 2010 elections, was supported and promoted by the ruling administration. This was supposedly a calculated step to create the image of competitiveness and democratic alternatives.

There are materials allegedly revealing Alasania’s contacts with the US Embassy and his opinions about his opposition partners, or that Georgian officials consider that the Georgian Orthodox Church hinders democratic reforms.

The ordinary citizen who is more or less familiar with the political situation in Georgia could conclude that nothing extraordinary was revealed by the famous website. All this information was public already since during or after the elections these stories were repeated as rumors, allegations and other gossip. So in fact Wikileaks' information, if true, just repeats the common knowledge of the Georgian public.